Ghosts in the Night
by savethecheerleader
Summary: AU; Sylaire in which Claire is a boutique employee who likes to romanticize and imagine what life would be like with the man she is sure is different from all the other sleeze bags that seem to have surrounded her over the years. What happens when he is missing for a period of time from her daily ritual only to reappear so suddenly?


**A/N**

Pairing: Sylaire

Rating: T (I never know what will happen when I write)

Summary: AU; Sylaire in which Claire is a boutique employee who likes to romanticize and imagine what life would be like with the man she is sure is different from all the other sleeze bags that seem to have surrounded her over the years. What happens when he is missing for a period of time from her daily ritual only to reappear so suddenly?

Hope you enjoy the first installment!

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Wake up, it's seven A.M. and she groans as she rolls over. Her feet thump loudly against the wooden floor and she hisses as the coldness of it seeps through her fuzzy socks and she rushes to her slippers and a hoodie, pulling it all on in seconds.

Her movements slow after that though and she huffs as she makes her way to her coffee pot and puts it together for a fresh one. It's not too long and it's sputtering to life just as she hears some rain splatters begin to fall outside. Another groan and she runs her hand through her hair, scratching her head.

Claire turns around and heads back to her room and into the bathroom, completing her morning routine, before continuing to her closet. She stands before it with her towel clutched tightly around her body as her hair drips, inhaling the smell of the coffee having just finished brewing.

The pot beeps in the other room and a black jacket with bright yellow red rain boots call to her and she tugs them out before finding the rest of her outfit, complete with a scarf to wear to work today. Her hair is still dripping so she dries it some more, goose bumps rising on her flesh as she pulls the towel away from her body and to her hair, then runs some mousse through it to give the blonde curls some life. Light makeup is brushed on with the exception of the deep red of a lipstick she wears being the great splash of color she wears other than the boots and the golden locks that are now nearly dry.

She's in the kitchenette then and completes her morning cup of Joe with three spoons of sugar and some cream to slightly lighten the color. Her lips meet the mug as she snatches up her purse and pulls the hood over her head to walk towards the stairway exiting her apartment.

The morning isn't too quiet but as she walks down the concrete path in the big city she hears the normal noise of cars and people on cell phones discussing business or even the gossip on who did what the night before. Really, it's all a bunch of white noise anymore that is hard for her to completely push from her mind but as she walks down the sidewalk her steps get a little faster, a little more urgent.

Claire can hear her own footsteps quicken from her lazy morning pace to match more of New York's footsteps. She looks around, careful of her surroundings as always as this wasn't the safest of places but the rent was cheap and Claire new she could survive here if she had to as that's how her father, Noah, had raised her.

She's close to the Boutique she works at which means she's close to the destination which made her pace quicken as it did.

The coffee in her hand was forgotten as her head turns to try and catch a glimpse of him, the watchmaker. Her heart picks up its pace too, though whether that was a reaction to her odd walking pattern as she slows from her quick pace or not no one will know for sure.

Her eyes frantically search for the man inside the glass windows as he's normally there and already cleaning the pieces or his windows by now with his sign turned to 'open.' She's almost let down until she catches him and her footsteps pause.

He was wearing a grey sweater over a plaid long sleeve shirt with the collar perfectly formed around his neck in a neat fashion. His hair, the handsome dark brown that it was, was brushed to the side like any gentleman would have his hair fashioned. A small smile pulls her painted red lips up into a soft but admiring look that she gave the oblivious man.

This was her morning ritual.

He would be sitting at his desk, hunched over a piece (or so she assumed), or up and about cleaning and dusting things off to keep everything in tip top shape though she's never seen him with a customer. Granted, the only time she was able to see him was in the early mornings like this.

The way he dressed and acted, she couldn't help but see him as some sort of Prince Charming. Mr. Gray would be something so much more than the low lives she had dated. He wouldn't be like Brody as Mr. Gray wouldn't push for something she wasn't ready to do. Nor would he be like Andrew who demanded her to be some picture perfect house wife figure with dinner on the table at 5 o'clock sharp when he arrived home. She wouldn't get lectured or judged when the meal was burnt either like she did with her last long term boyfriend. No, Mr. Gray was a kind man, she could see that. He was patient and loving for sure.

She could imagine how their household would be, one full of love and laughter. They would cuddle and she would throw popcorn at him and he might huff and puff about the mess she was making and how the oils would smear on his glasses but he wouldn't mind too much as long as it was cleaned up later.

He would give her a sweet kiss and she would be the energetic crazy one after she woke up but just looking at Mr. Gray she knew he would be the morning person with tea in the morning and brewing her coffee as she woke up.

Her heart lifted at these thoughts and she still stood there smiling, though it was a second too long, as always, and Mr. Gray checks his watch then turns. His eyes catch hers as he catches her staring and she lets their eyes stay locked for a moment until she looks down to see the slight, embarrassed smile she is awarded by him and her face goes pink. She giggles and looks away, picking up that fast pace again as she walks just a few stores down to the Boutique she works at.

The flustered blonde pulls her keys out then as she unlocks the doors and prepares for the day without a word said to the man in the little watch shop.

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**A/N** So short is what this is gonna be…It may be in three or four chapters but that's about it. Sorry! Reviews are appreciated! -Em


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